June 07 short stories for SMMFC
by Sheankelor
Summary: These tales are all rooted in the first arc of season R, or at least the characters from that arc. Please let me know if you enjoy!
1. The price of Love

Title: The Price of Love  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Fiore  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime/ Pre-story line  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

The Price of Love 

_AN: In my universe, Makaiju made Ann and Ail to raise her seedling, and filled them and their pod with as much love as possible. _

A truce was called between the Branch clan and the Root clan. Their home had developed an unusual growth, and all were present to investigate it. Fiore of the Root clan stared at the pod that was suspended in the empty space between the roots and the branches. The closer he stood to it, the more unusual he felt. _'I don't know what it is... but I like it. I feel light... content.'_ Even as the other clan members drifted off to make new battle plans, he stayed close.

Fiore darted under the Branch clan's sentries, slipping under the roots when ever he could. Finally, he was near the pod. It had grown during the last four months. If he stood on his tip toes he could touch the pod. Using all his scouting training, he scanned the area for any of the Branch clan scum who might try and kill him. Not detecting any, he let his finger tips brush the under surface of the pod. He heard a voice echoing in the back of his mind. It always said the same thing. _'Love.. Pure love.. happiness comes from love... life comes from love.'_

He dropped his hand, and settled in the shadow of the pod. _'If love is the feeling I get when I'm around this pod... it could bring happiness, but life?'_ Sliding down a root until he was well hidden, but still in the pod's area of affect, Fiore soaked in the emanations to heal the weariness of the day's skirmishes.

Fiore was the first to notice the split in the pod. He had hoped that over the last year the clans had forgotten about the pod, or at least were not watching it closely. His hopes were dashed when another truce was called, and both clans were formally called before the pod.

The leaders of both clans were giving speeches about how wonderful the tree was to give this present. Fiore noticed how they were standing. _'They don't trust the truce. Both of them are out of weapon's range. It is safer not to take chances.'_ His eyes flickered to the ever widening split, hoping to see what was inside. He was only half listening to his leader's speech and the Branch clan's jeering.

"The tree has gifted us with new life. We shall raise and teach this newest member of our clan in the ways of the right path." The Root clan leader droned on, and Fiore blocked him out. But when the Branch clan leader started his speech, which was essentially the same thing, he joined his clan members as they jeered the red eyed leader while watching the split grow.

Fiore vigilance was rewarded when he was the first to spot the two children held inside the pod. When his eyes met theirs, he knew he couldn't allow them to be corrupted by the clans. He had to help them escape, but how? His window of opportunity was lost when the leaders spotted the children.

Both leaders called out to their respective clans. "Two! We have two new members!" Spinning about, blue eyes clashed with red and weapons were drawn.

The blue eyed leader of the Root clan snarled at his opponent. "They are of the root clan! See! Their eyes are blue!"

The Branch clan leader smirked. "Look again. Their eyes are red! They are for the Branch clan."

Fiore narrowed his blue eyes briefly, trying to see the children's eyes better. _'They are both right. One is blue and the other is red. I wonder if this is a sign.'_

The words that only he could hear echoed in the back of his head. _Love.. Pure love.. happiness comes from love... life comes from love._

_'If they are to bring us life and happiness, then I have to get them away from here.'_ As a skirmish broke out, ending the truce, Fiore slipped into the pod. "Come with me. I'll take you to a safe place." He held out his hand and hoped that they could walk. When they placed their hands into his, he all but dragged them out of the pod.

Moving quickly, Fiore moved them through the network of roots that were right under the pod. _'All that time spent sneaking here is paying off.'_ He knew that the other scouts didn't know the area that well. And he was sure that no one knew of the hiding place he was heading for. He helped the children over the rough roots and through the tight spots until he reached the base of the stem. Moving a curtain of root hairs, he gestured them into the cave like opening at the base of the stem. Once they were in, he dropped the curtain behind him. Light gently filtered through the upper roots and their root hairs.

_'I need to explain to them what is happening. I need to tell them why they need to hide. Why they need to grow up apart.'_ Taking a deep breath, he exhaled quickly when he realized that the children looked the same age as himself. Looking at them, he realized this was going to be tougher than he had thought.

Eyes stared at him, red ones in fury, and blue ones in shock and disappointment. _'And it is the blue one that hurt the most. They are my family, my friends, the ones I care for.'_ Standing as straight as he could, Fiore tried to ignore Ann and Ail's calls to him. It was because his connection to them that he had learned to care, to love, his family, his clan. The power of the pod had stayed with them. 

"Fiore!" The clan's leader's crisp tone snapped him back to the trial. Fiore's eyes focused on the man he had come to think of as his father. "You took the children from their pod, didn't you?"

"Yes sir, I did." He thought of all the other things he could have said in his defense, but he knew it would be futile.

The leader's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you had captured them for the clan, you would have been rewarded." The Branch clan erupted in fury, their yells and screams echoed into the depths of the roots where the trial was being held. "But, you hid them from us, as well as from the Branch clan. And you kept them hidden for an entire year." He paused for a moment, waiting to see if Fiore would defend himself. _'Surely he had a reason. My best scout, one of the most trusted members of the clan. Why?'_ When Fiore remained silent, the leader continued. "We would not have found them if we did not follow you." _'I wanted to promote you... you would have been the youngest scout leader in the clan's history. I tracked you down to tell you, and I found...'_ He ruthlessly blocked the scene from his mind.

Fiore watched the pain flash through the leader's eyes. _'Their affect was expanding. But it seems to be traveling through the roots faster. I wonder if that was because of me. But, that is over now.'_ He could feel the emanations lessening the longer Ann and Ail were captives. Soon the hope they represented to him would vanish all together as they were incorporated into the clans. Remaining silent, he waited for his sentence. He knew no one doubted his guilt.

"Fiore, you have gone against your clan." The leader shook his head slightly. "We can not trust you anymore. So, you are to be banished." Fiore's eyes widened in shock. He knew the pain would come soon, especially as the rest of the sentence sunk in. "We will not send you to the Branch clan, you were too good of a clan member to do that too. So, you shall be set adrift."

Two member of the clan council stood next to him and raised their hands. Between them Fiore noticed a bubble surround him. The councilors made a pushing motion. Fiore felt himself drift away, and before he realized it, he was floating in space, with his home leaving him far behind.


	2. Happiness gone awry

Title: Happiness gone awry  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Memories  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

lj-cut text"Happiness gone awry" 

center u Happiness gone awry /u /center 

Makaiju huddled deep inside of herself, protecting the new life that was held there from the encroaching darkness. em 'The walls are as thick as I can make them. But I can feel the malignant energy chewing away at them. Soon they will collapse. Soon there will be no hope.' /em Suddenly she felt them, An and Ail, and memories of hopes and wishes rushed through the protected core of Makaiju.

em 'Home.' /em The memory of a bright watery world sparkled as a long lost haven. em 'I had everything I needed there. /em The pang of an old loniless slipped through the bright happy memories. em 'Everything but company. So, I birthed the first of my fair children. And I had hoped... I had hoped that they too would be able to live off just the water, sunlight, and atmosphere. ' /em The memory of her failure tried to carve its way out of the protected core. em 'But, they still brought me happiness, and they lessoned my loneliness.' /em 

The richness of her home had allowed her to birth more of these less than perfect children. And they grew, feed only from the energy she had been able to garner from their home. Her and her children had lived contently for years, but somehow, a darkness seeped in and infected her children. They began to fight and squabble amongst themselves. A bitter war erupted that ranged from the top of her branches to the bottom of her roots. Steeped in darkness, her embittered children lost their ability to her here.

em 'They never heard my pleas... my screams of pain as they soaked me in the darkness that filled them... As they destroyed our home. They never heard my tears.' /em She hadn't wanted to, but slowly she pulled into herself, cutting her children off as throughly as they had her. em ' Of course that made things worse. The less energy I gave them, the worst they fought. And to make things even worse, they started deliberately filling me with negative energy.' /em A small shudder passed through her, making the tree creak slightly. em 'They didn't know... They couldn't hear me tell them.' /em The memory of the poison leaking into her body almost weakened her barriers against it. em ' It was then I gave birth to my last two children, An and Ail.' /em 

Makaiju remember the effort she had put into creating them. They were different from her other children. They were to be the caretakers of her true child, her seed. So, she had made them truly male and female, and she had infused their seed pod with all the feelings of love a mother could feel. All in hopes that they, her last chance, would learn how to love.

She felt another wave of negative energy seep through her root, and another section of the barrier surrounding her core melted away before it. em 'Instead of becoming my caretakers, they are unwittingly following in the other children's footsteps. They are killing me, too.' /em Tightening the barrier around her core once more, Makaiju checked on the seed the hovered in the center, and tried not to give into despair.


	3. of Cardians and energy

Title: of Cardians and energy  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Tarot  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

of Cardians and energy 

Ail raised his flute and concentrated on the tarot card in front of him. He used his music to focus a stream of energy on the being encased inside the little card. The energy slid out of him like water released from a dam and into the card surrounding and binding the creature with in to his will.

_'Where does this energy come from? Even when I am low.. even when the tree is low... there is always enough energy to awaken the Cardians.'_ Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to trace the energy back to its source, but it was useless. Focusing back on the tarot card, he smiled as Vampire formed. Giving the Cardian its orders, they sent it off.

Ann settled back and waited. Soon there would be a rich feast. Soon there would be energy to spare. Smiling, she sensed the energy flowing into the tree. _'Yes, there is enough power here to last quite awhile.'_

Makaiju huddled deep inside of herself. The dark energy was flowing again. She could feel the fear and pain that was laced through it. Those beastly Cardians were out stripping the life from some poor defenseless planet's inhabitants. _'They were trapped in those cards for a reason. They were heinous creatures on the worlds that we first traveled to. Prisoners... each one of them convicted of some sort of criminal act towards the Clans. And somehow... somehow Ail knows how to free them and make them follow his bidding.'_

She shuddered as the barriers around her core were attacked again. Suddenly the attack stopped, and a shaft of energy so pure it almost burned pulsed through the tree. Without thinking, Makaiju pulled that bright, burning power into her core. Holding it, savoring it, for just a moment, she knew that such power was not likely to come again. _'The seed. I'll give it to my seed.'_ As a mother will do, she gave the first true piece of nourishment to the child she hoped would survive and flourish after she was gone.

Ann and Ail frowned. "Who destroyed Vampire?"


	4. I remember you, should you remember me

Title: I remember you, should you remember me?  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Frustration  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime ep 48  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

I remember you, should you remember me?

There he was, standing on the street corner. Usagi felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him. _'You're alive.. everyone is alive.'_ She knew he wouldn't remember her, but she still felt her feet running towards him and her arms wrapping around his.

"Ma-mo-ru -san!" Snuggling her head onto his bicep, she savored the scent of her Mamo-chan. The happiness and relief that she felt poured out of her in happy bubbles.

It was when she looked into his blank, unknowing eyes, that her uncertainty returned. _'It isn't the same as when Queen Beryl stole him... but... in a way it is worse.'_ During their conversation, he admitted to not even remembering her name. The pain cut through her like a knife. To top it off, he ran from her. _'He also ran from Natsumi. I have a chance. We are tied together, Mamoru and me. We were meant to be.'_

Putting on a happy face, Usagi continued window shopping. _'Even if he doesn't remember me... surely we'll end back up together. I just have to back off and give him a while. I need to come on to him slowly. That way he can learn to love me once again.'_

Staring into a bakery shop window, she spotted Makoto's reflection in the glass. Another true smile blossomed, and then faded as she remembered that Makoto had no clue who she was. Frustration welled up inside of her._' It's no fair! I can remember them, but they can't remember me! I want them back.. all of them. Mamo-chan, Rei-chan, Mako-chan, Ami-chan, and Minako-chan.'_ She pushed the door to the bakery open. There was only one way to make herself feel better. Pulling out the last of her allowance, she bought two slices of cake.

Floating on a sugar high, Usagi's frustration simmered down, and her rational thought prevailed. _'They don't remember me, and that is how it should be. I'll deal with the monsters. I can do it. I have the Crescent Moon wand. They can live a normal life.'_ A sigh escaped her. _'But I want... I want my friends. How can I do that and keep them from remembering?'_

She wandered on, and eventually found herself back on the corner where she had last seen Mamoru this morning. _'Natsumi is going to try and steal my Mamo-chan. I can't let her steal him with out a fight. I refuse to sit back and do nothing. Maybe I can get him to remember. Just a little bit. But... how?'_

Letting out a sigh, she headed home. Maybe Luna could help her figure out some answers.


	5. A little bit at a time

Title: A little bit at a time  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - blonde  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

A little bit at a time 

It was her hair that first caught Ail's attention. It glistened in the morning light, like a ray of sunlight itself. Then he found out she was named Tsukino, the moon. That night when he gazed at the pale orb floating in the sky he was reminded of her: the girl named after the moon but with hair as bright as the sun.

The next day he found out that the color was called blonde.

Then, it was her energy that he noticed. Pure, sweet energy that seemed boundless. No matter what was happening, she was always bouncing around. She ran towards him. She ran towards Ann. Having someone like her run to him made him feel happy. It took him awhile to figure out what the feeling was.

He discovered that Usagi meant bunny, a small fuzzy creature with boundless energy.

At last he noticed her eyes. They were as blue as the oceans of his home world. They seemed to invite him to drown himself in them. They sparkled when she laughed, which was often. They glowed when she spotted him. That glow made him fell warm inside. Warmer than any energy from the tree had ever made him feel.

Then, those eyes glowed more for someone else.


	6. Loud and clear

Title: Loud and Clear  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Message  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

Loud and Clear 

Ail tapped his finger against the paper. The message was straight forward. Ann had left to practice for that play she had joined. But the true message was hidden between the lines. Snatching the paper off the table, he crumpled it in his fist.

"What does she see in him?" Flinging the paper into the trash can, he stalked off to the balcony. "All he is is a simple human. Maybe... maybe she is attracted to his energy, and she thinks it is something else." 

Looking up into the night sky, he noticed that the moon was low in the sky. Usagi flashed into his mind. "And she is chasing after Mamoru, also." Turning his back on the moon, he tightened his grip on his flute. Both of his girls were forgetting about him. _'He needs to go. If the play is destroyed, they might realize how pathetic he is. Then, they will come back... they will only look at me.'_

Flipping out the Cardians, Ail contemplated on which one would best deliver his message on opening night.


	7. A weapon for a Princess

Title: A weapon for a Princess  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Outer Senshi  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime during ep 51  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

A weapon for a Princess 

Queen Selenity watched the events unfold on the Earth. Usagi's life had returned to normal. That was until the aliens had landed on the planet, and Luna had to restore her memories. Now it was a torture to watch her fight without the help of her Crescent Moon wand.

"She deserves it. She earned it defeating Beryl." Selenity stared into the vortex of time, searching for the Crescent Moon wand and the silver crystal. "Gone. They disappeared when they slipped from her hand after Beryl's defeat."

Closing her eyes, she blocked out the view of her beloved daughter fighting a monster that had taken on the form off a cherry tree. The pull started off gentle, but slowly it became insistent, tugging at her soul. Opening her eyes, Selenity saw she was floating in a red and white mist. _'Serenity? I'm in Serenity's soul?' _Appearing before her was her daughter and Luna. _'The Silver Crystal is nearby. Serenity pulled it into herself? She has had it the entire time? No wonder I couldn't find it in the vortex.'_

With a gentle smile and words of advice, she changed Serenity's broken broach into a compact with the silver crystal embedded into it. After telling Serenity the new transformation phrase, she watched as Sailor Moon disappeared.

_'She is off to save her friends with no weapon to fight with but her heart. That isn't fair. She needs something.'_ Flying as fast as she could, she went to the Gates of Time.

"Sailor Pluto."

The green haired warrior turned to greet the wondering ghost of the moon. "Queen Selenity."

Queen Selenity's pale silver eyes gazed into Pluto's garnet ones. She tried to judge the senshi's mood. "I wish the Cutie Moon Rod. I know it is held, suspended in time, waiting for when it is needed. I believe it is time."

The Guardian of Time's face remained impassive. "Why? What makes you believe that now is the time to release the wand of the Moon Princess?" Pluto watched the former Queen's face, silently hoping that she would answer correctly.

Selenity prevented the frown from forming on her brow. "The Princess of the Moon is in grave danger, and needs a way to protect herself and her allies, as well as to the heal the enemies that are attacking her. The Cutie Moon Wand is hers by birth and by need."

Pluto raised her eyebrow at the barely suppressed vehemence in the Queen's voice. "She is not the Moon Princess by birth. She is the reincarnation of the Moon Princess, but she denied that part of herself when Beryl died."

Pluto remember the effort she had taken to create this new universe for her princess. A universe where the princess and her guardians could be normal. But now the Queen was saying that the princess was awake and in danger. Turning just a bit, she scanned the monitors next to the Queen's shade. _'A new enemy. A dangerous one at that.'_

Selenity lost her battle with the frown. "She is not denying it now, and she is in mortal danger. She must be allowed to have the rod."

The evidence of the monitors, and the sincerity of the Queen convinced Pluto to get the rod out of stasis.

Rod is hand, Selenity went to give her daughter a weapon that she could fight with and have a chance of winning.


	8. Death of a sprout

Title: Death of a sprout  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - torture   
Genre: General  
Version: Anime ep 58  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

Death of a sprout 

Makaiju was surprised when she felt it, then she was overjoyed. Her children had discovered love. She savored the feeling, and let it nourish her instead of the seedling that was growing inside of her. _'I have given my child all the positive energy that has streaked its way through me as the Cardians met their doom. But this... this is what I have longed for.'_

Early that day, she had fallen into despair when the darkness had overwhelmed her. She had literally grabbed one of the inhabitants of this planet. The girl had dared to open the door to her sanctuary, the one that connected her dimension with the Earth's. The girl was so rich in love energy, and she was so hungry, that she had acted out of desperation. Ann and Ail had stopped her, preventing her from being completely devoured by the darkness that was swimming through her. Her happiness had given birth to a small sprout, the first new growth in years.

That happiness was short lived.

Her children rained poison on the sprout, killing it. The torture continued, but it felt worse than ever due to that brief ray of hope.


	9. Home, Finding Eden

Title: Home- Finding Eden  
Author: Ree  
Theme: Sailor Moon R first Arc - Morning  
Genre: General  
Version: Anime  
Rating: G

They're not mine...they're not yours unless you are Takeuchi Naoko. Well, some of them might be mine. 

Home - Finding Eden

It was morning. The sun crested over the far horizon. Ann and Ail stood in quiet awe as they watched the dawn of a new day. Streams of golden light picked out the rubble strewn across the empty ground. It glinted on the swells of the ocean that crashed into the nearby shore. It touched the distant volcanoes, making their smoke appear to be reddish orange clouds floating in the sky.

Ann watched as the sky lightened to a pale pink shot through with rich purples and tinges of green, before it brightened to rich blue, pushing the darkness away. Listening with all her might, she strained to hear any sound of life. She reached out with all her senses to pick up the least bit of life energy. There was none, save a few bacteria and other unicellular life. There was no other sentient life here. She smiled reassuringly at Ail, as he did the same to her.

A breeze blew in off the ocean, ruffling their hair, and bringing the smell of salt water with it. Savoring the fresh scent, Ann worked her feet into the soft upper layer of soil. For a moment, she felt like she should put down roots, spread her arms, and grow leaves.

"We have found a home." Ann whispered as her heart swelled with happiness. Ail nodded in agreement, the wonder of their discovery glowing in his eyes. At that moment, they felt a love for this barren world take root in their hearts. Holding hands, they looked about their new world imagining what it would look like in a few years when it would be full of life.

The young Makaiju sank its roots deep into the fertile soil, its branches spread wide, and its leaves unfurling. Unnoticed for now, a small group of pods formed. Soon, its caretakers would have company.


End file.
